Rig Check prior To Order

[rajagra]

Read seeks are 4.5ms and 5.2ms respectively, according to WD.

Yes, and then add on the 3ms average latency and you get 7.5ms and 8.2ms average access times, respectively. Not so far from my real-world figures of 8.0 and 8.1.
My 74GB is a little slower than they claim.
My 36GB is a little faster than they claim.
FWIW I just repeated both tests. Mostly the same results except the 36GB CPU time is down to 5% (same as the 74GB), and the 74GB random access is up to 8.1ms (same as the 36GB!)
Between you and me, I think both drives use the same mechanisms.
WD's figures are probably theoretical and calculated from a formula. HDTach probably makes different assumptions about what is a typical random access pattern.
I'm satisfied that the 74GB is up to 10% faster, but in my system at least, there are no *massive differences* between the 2 drives.

[EvilMunky]

THanks for all the intel guys. Kit is ordered and Scan / CPUCity permitting - will have the bits this week.

Didnt go for an asus board as im not a fan of them - similar with ATI - dont like them.........not saying they are bad - its just one of those personal choice things.

Thanks again - will post my thoughts on speed / performance once its built

[dgr]

similar with ATI - dont like them

And you'll be thanking your lucky stars you went for nvidia if you ever want to try out Linux

I'm satisfied that the 74GB is up to 10% faster, but in my system at least, there are no *massive differences* between the 2 drives.

I'm in agreement, since the raptors came out it seems hard disk performance has improved significantly - such that its not really the bottleneck in my system. You might as well save the money and spend it on something useful... like a dual LCD setup

[RDL]

Just a point EvilMunky - if you are planning on RAID "ing" your Raptors later, you will have to format. It would be better to shove the other one in now if you can afford it.

[EvilMunky]

Yeah i know ill have to reformat - but to be honest - thats not really a problem as this will just be a gaming machine with no data setup on it

plus im not sure i will need the performance boost

[jimborae]

......


Aloso still undecided on case - but most likely shoving all this stuff into a ThermaltAke Armor as i like them

Can you guys cehck and let me know please :
Oh yeah - and let me know anything ive missed :0

Can I suggest you don't go for a Thermaltake Amour case, I have one & I was very dissappointed with it. I wanted a black case that had a window & was similar to a Coolermaster Stacker but cheaper so I went for a black TT Armour case. I now wish I hadn't.

Problems I found are as follows:

1. there is only 1 position to have the psu and if you have longer than standard psu eg OCZ 650w Powerstream then fitting it is real problem due to the top mounted fan & usb/firewire bracket.

2. Talking of the top fan & usb bracket, Thermaltake make a lot of noise regarding the venting on the case top (loads of vent holes & said top mounted 92mm fan) However most of it is useless as it is covered by the aforementioned usb bracket.

3. The rail housing that you mount your opitcal & hard drives in at the front is not as wide as on the Stacker & it means you can't easily mount a front radiator if your watercooling.

4. The grill covers that clip in at the front look & feel very cheap and have a very loose fit.

5. The two aluminium "wings" on the front of the case have no locking mechanism what so ever to hold them in place. Theyfore they just flap around when ever the csae is moved slightly or vibrate & rattle when the pc is on (this is caused by vibrations from my water pump)

6. The case is not as big as it looks.

7. Overall the case has a very cheap look & feel to it.

If I was going to do it all again, I'd definitely spend the extra £40 odd quid & get a Stacker.

[EvilMunky]

too late - already ordered it.
I looked at a stacker twice - once in shop and once at mates house. Just didnt appeal to me at all - something bout it i didnt like.

But i built a machine for someone using the tt kandalf - which is basically the armour and saw no real issues at all.

I like t/take cases personally and so will bear with this one to see what its like. Will let you know my thoughts

[rajagra]

If I was going to do it all again, I'd definitely spend the extra £40 odd quid & get a Stacker.

The CM Stacker is a great case (I have one), but be warned it is very deep (front to back.)
If you have it under a desk, like I do, it can stick out a couple of inches.

[jimborae]

too late - already ordered it.
I looked at a stacker twice - once in shop and once at mates house. Just didnt appeal to me at all - something bout it i didnt like.

But i built a machine for someone using the tt kandalf - which is basically the armour and saw no real issues at all.

I like t/take cases personally and so will bear with this one to see what its like. Will let you know my thoughts

Well I hope you have better luck with it than I did. Admittedly a lot of my problems were due to the purpose I was using it & the heavy duty components so hopefully you wont encounter them.

[EvilMunky]

cheers